The TUBA Procedure

Transumbilical Breast Augmentation (TUBA) with Birmingham, Alabama board-certified plastic surgeons William J. Hedden, M.D., or Christopher J. Schaffer, M.D., at Hedden Plastic Surgery is performed using the latest in endoscopic technology to make your breasts fuller and enhance their shape.

Traditional breast augmentation methods require an incision, and a resulting scar, at the bottom crease of the breast, around the nipple or in the armpit. During TUBA breast augmentation, the breast implants are inserted through a small incision at the upper rim of the belly button and tunneled beneath the skin of the abdomen, which is more elastic than the skin around the breasts. The result — a fuller appearance and enhanced contour with no scars on the breasts, a quicker recovery and less risk of sensation changes in the nipples and breasts.

TUBA Breast Augmentation Surgery — Birmingham AL

TUBA Breast Augmentation After an incision at the perimeter of the belly button, breast implants are tunneled to the breasts using an endoscope and filled with saline solution.

Transumbilical Breast Augmentation is performed as an outpatient procedure at the Outpatient Surgery Center of Hedden Plastic Surgery in Birmingham, Alabama. TUBA is usually performed with local anesthesia and IV sedation. Numbing medication is administered so that patients can feel pressure, but no pain, in the area of surgery. Under sedation, patients remain conscious but are sedated to the point of a light sleep.

The incision is made at the top rim of the belly button, leaving only a small scar inside the navel's upper rim. The surgeon uses an endoscope fitted with a surgical camera to create a channel from the incision to the tissues behind each breast. A tissue expander with a long fill tube is inserted through the channel, positioned over the chest muscle (subglandular) or partially under the chest muscle (subpectoral) and filled with either saline or air to expand the breast pocket. The expander is filled to approximately 1 1/2 times the volume of the permanent implant to create a pocket large enough for natural movement.

After the breast pocket is sufficiently expanded, the tissue expander is deflated and removed. The empty breast implant is rolled up, inserted in the same manner as the tissue expander and filled with saline using a syringe or a fill tube. Once the implant is in place and filled, the surgeon uses the endoscope to examine the implant and check for bleeding. The incision is then closed and a small bandage applied. The entire surgery usually takes from 30 to 45 minutes.

After TUBA breast augmentation, patients are able to return to the comfort of their home after spending time under medical supervision in the recovery room. Please see Recovering from Surgery for what to expect after surgery.

Though complications are rare, they can and do occur, as with any surgery. The biggest drawback is that the TUBA incision usually can't be reused if an implant must be revised or removed due to a complication, requiring an incision at the breast crease or around the nipple. There is also a risk of changes in sensation, though this risk is less than with other breast augmentation methods.